Norman Rockwell Museum to Celebrate Baseball & Art

All-American Festival to be held Saturday, July 3rd will feature artists Kreindler and Fazzino; former Red Sox player Brian Daubach, and Babe Ruth’s granddaughter

Norman Rockwell Museum has stacked the lineup for its annual Play Ball! All-American Festival to be held Saturday, July 3, from 12 to 4 pm. For those who are fans of art and America’s Pastime, the Stockbridge, MA museum will provide the perfect way to kick off the All-American holiday weekend. Artists Graig Kreindler and Charles Fazzino will be on hand, along with Linda Ruth Tosetti, granddaughter of Babe Ruth; former Boston Red Sox first baseman Brian Daubach; Anna Wade, Director of Education at the National Baseball Hall of Fame; and members of the Pittsfield Colonials.

Choosing the best reason to make the trip to Stockbridge might be more difficult than deciding which batter in the legendary Murderer’s Row you’d most like to face.

Visitors will have the opportunity to meet the granddaughter of the most famous player from that 1927 Yankees lineup, as Linda Ruth Tosetti will share her personal memories of the Babe.

They will also get the chance to hear more about baseball history from The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Wade, as she presents The Art of Baseball — An illustrated talk about the connections between baseball and the art world. Also, see and touch some of the artifacts from the Hall of Fame Education collection.

Brian Daubach will share some of his experiences as a major league player and as manager of the minor league Colonials. Visitors are encouraged to bring a baseball mitt, because they’ll have a chance to toss the ball with players from the Daubach’s current team.

Charles Fazzino — an innovator in the 3D pop art style, and a premiere events artist who has been the official artist for Major League Baseball All-Star games, the GRAMMY Awards, nine Super Bowls and dozens of other big-time events — will exhibit many of his baseball-related works, and will conduct an interactive art workshop with the kids who attend. Fazzino will work with the kids  to create a unique artwork for the Museum’s collection.

For those who appreciate more realistic art, Graig Kreindler (named after Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles) will speak about his experiences as one of the world’s preeminent sports artists. The Rockland, NY native has made a career out of creating masterpieces on canvas, depicting scenes that in many cases took place before he was born. Kreindler is known for the painstaking research he endures to find the exact color to paint the seats of a stadium that no longer exists, or a patch on the sleeve of a player who retired long before color photography was being used. Kreindler is also known for his ability to capture the essence of the moment — of some of the the truly great moments in America’s Game. Kreindler will unveil a painting created especially for this event.

Of course, all of the above is in addition to Norman Rockwell Museum’s regular offerings. The Norman Rockwell Museum “houses the most significant public collection of Norman Rockwell’s work in the world.” The 367-work collection includes famous Rockwell oils such as Triple Self-Portrait, The Art Critic, The Problem We All Live With and The Four Freedoms.

The current exhibition (on display from June 12 – October 31, 2010) is William Steig: Love and Laughter From the New Yorker to Shrek…

All of the events and activities listed above are free with regular museum admission (Adults $15, kids and teens 18-and-under are free). The museum is approximately two-and-one-half hours north of New York City.